Meeting Her
by asymmetric implosion
Summary: What starts as a pleasant dream turns into an unexpected conversation. Naruto ONE-SHOT


Sakura woke a bit groggy. She rubbed her eyes. She was in a field of flowers. Cherry blossoms were falling from the trees at the edge of the field when the breeze picked up. Her mind finally focused and she went into combat mode.

"Genjutsu," she muttered.

Sakura formed a handsign and tried to break it. Nothing happened. She was able to break high level genjutsu even when layered. The Sharingan and few bloodline genjutsu were the only ones beyond her.

"Why are you doing this?" she yelled to the field.

Sakura slowly spun around surveying the area. She couldn't see anything but the field and the cherry trees. After she rotated three times a woman was kneeling in the field on a blanket. She had a basket with food.

"Welcome, Sakura Haruno."

Sakura tried to break the genjutsu again. She failed.

"This isn't genjutsu."

Sakura moved toward the blanket cautiously.

"Then what is this?" she asked.

The red head looked around.

"This is your dream world. We are in your dream."

Sakura felt for foreign chakra. Short of a true master, she could detect the subtle influence of another's chakra. She felt nothing.

"Please sit down. It's rude to keep trying to escape."

Sakura kneeled on the blanket.

"I invaded your dream for a reason. It's a selfish reason really but I think it will benefit you as well."

The rosette looked at the redhead. She was pulling food from the basket and laying it out. She stopped and looked around.

"This is a lovely place. I wish I could have come to a place like this with my husband and son."

"Your husband and son?" asked Sakura.

The red head smiled.

"Yes. I miss them terribly."

Sakura was confused.

"I guess you haven't figured it out yet. I was told not to expect you to so I'll just tell you. I'm dead."

The rosette raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"If you are dead then how can I see you?" asked the rosette.

The redhead smiled.

"I don't understand all the details. The Shinigami tried to explain it but I'm not one for long winded explanations and let me tell you, that guy can talk."

Sakura felt herself relaxing slightly. Something about this woman told her she was safe. She felt familiar. The rosette was gawking. Kushina reached out and closed her mouth.

"You'll catch flies like that," said the redhead with a maternal smile.

Sakura felt like a child the way the woman touch her chin to close her mouth.

"Sorry. I only had a few moments to be a mother before I died. I guess my maternal instincts are in overdrive."

The rosette nodded while touching her chin. It felt like her mother touched her chin.

"My name is Kushina by the way. Sorry. Manners aren't my thing."

Sakura nodded and went to introduce herself. Kushina cut her off.

"I know all about you, Sakura. I've been watching you for some time. You are a powerful kunoichi and quite lovely."

The medic nin blushed.

"Thank you."

Kushina nodded.

"I don't have a lot of time and this is going to be a difficult subject for you so we should get to the point."

Sakura was confused.

"You are in love with my son. Why don't you tell him?"

The rosette was on her feet and angry.

"What the hell are you talking about?" roared the rosette.

Kushina smiled which turned into a laugh. She stopped after a moment.

"Despite being a new born, you listened to your mother. Good boy, Naruto."

Sakura's jaw dropped. She fell to her knees.

"You're…"

Kushina nodded. The rosette was back on her feet. She was ready to beat this woman senseless.

"We shouldn't waste time on your anger with me. I spoke with Naruto already. He understands why he was chosen to carry the Kyuubi. He accepts it. I suggest you do the same for now."

Sakura kneeled back down but she was on guard now. Any woman that would sacrifice her new born son as a jinchuuriki couldn't be trusted.

Kushina sighed.

"Very well. I'll give you the short version. I was the last jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. When I was ready to deliver Naruto my seal grew weak. Madara Uchiha took advantage of me and released the demon on the village. I didn't die immediately. I tried to restrain the demon. In the end, Minato decided to seal half the Kyuubi's chakra into our son. He sealed a little of his chakra and my chakra into Naruto as well. We were there to help him when he needed us most."

Sakura absorbed the information.

"During the attack on the village by the one called Pain, Naruto was losing control. His father stopped him and started to tell the story. When Naruto finally took control of the Kyuubi, I was the one that helped him. I explained as much as I could in my limited time."

The rosette had many questions but Kushina raised her hand.

"The rest is for him to tell you when he feels ready. Besides, this story doesn't change the fact that you love my son. Why won't you tell him?"

The medic nin sputtered a bit before taking a deep breath.

"You are running out of time. Another is starting to weaken his resolve. If you keep walking the path you're on, you will lose him."

Sakura shook her head.

"You are mistaken, Kushina-san. Naruto and I are good friends. It's nothing more than that."

The redhead sighed.

"I knew you were going to be stubborn. I hoped you would admit it and we could move on. Who knows, talk about the names of my grandchildren but I guess I have to use my time on convincing you of the truth."

"Grandchildren! If you think I'm," roared the rosette.

Kushina smiled.

"You don't know what you're missing. Minato was quiet skilled with a woman's body and Naruto does take after his father."

The rosette turned bright red.

"You have to love the golden hair and the lean build."

Kushina shivered.

"They may have called Minato the Yellow Flash but let me tell you, if my son is like his father, you will be the one getting there in a flash if you know what I mean."

Sakura's eyes went wide before she turned purple at the implications of Kushina's words.

"The most important thing is that he loves you with all his heart. He'd give anything for your happiness and you are throwing it all away."

The rosette shook her head to clear away the shock.

"What are you talking about?" asked the rosette.

"Hinata Hyuuga is growing bold. She's able to talk to Naruto now without fainting. Her 'weird' sickness is going away and Naruto is looking at her differently. It could be a few days, weeks or years, but if you keep him at arm's length, he will move on."

Sakura crossed her arms.

"What do you want me to do? Stripe down and let him have his way with me."

Kushina sighed.

"You are so black and white. I'm suggesting something more…normal. Not that anyting in our family is normal. How about going on a date with him? Something simple like dinner and a movie. What do you have to lose?"

"Why should I?" asked the rosette.

Sakura crossed her arms. Kushina muttered some curses and rubbed her temples.

"Look, I'll make this simple. If you give Naruto a chance you are likely to have the life you want. You will have a man that loves you with all his heart and wonderful children. You will be the woman behind a great man and be a great woman in your own right. If you decide to push him away, you will be content with another but you will not know the love of a true soul mate. Naruto will be the same. You will each have families of your own and remain close, but you will always wonder if you could have had more."

Sakura crossed her arms.

"How do I know you're telling me the truth? As you said, this was a selfish visit."'

Kushina nodded.

"It is selfish because I want my son to know true happiness after years of loniliness. I want him to be with a woman that can love as deeply as he can. The Hyuuga are an honorable clan with noble ideals, a bit snobby but good people. They are emotionally underdeveloped. Do you think Naruto could be himself with that kind of influence?"

Sakura thought about her teammate and his emotional approach to life. Hinata's family would be repressive but that was his choice.

"I don't see why any of this is my problem. If Naruto chooses to go after Hinata, it is his business."

Kushina sighed.

"I had such high hopes for you. It's a shame really."

The redhead stood.

"My time is nearly up, Sakura. I hope you will think about your feelings and do what is best for you. I'm trying to show you that you are running about of time."

A passage of white light opened behind Kushina. She walked toward it.

"Naruto is a tormented soul that takes comfort with you. Thank you for being there for him as a friend. You've done far more for him than I ever did."

Sakura stood and reached for Kushina but she couldn't reach her. The redhead disappeared into the passage and it vanished.

Sakura woke to her alarm. She shut if off and sat up. She felt like she'd barely slept at all. She looked at the clock and cursed. She was supposed to get up early. Team Kakashi was leaving for a mission early today. They had an A-rank mission to escort a minister from the Fire Country capital to the Wind Country capital.

She showered quickly and threw on her clothing. She didn't have time to do her hair. She was thankful that they would need to rest overnight before reaching the capital. She raced out of her house shouting a farewell to her mother. The medic nin took to the roof tops racing toward the gate. She bounded off the last house to see Kakashi and Yamato talking to Naruto. She slid to a stop when she saw his hair shine in the morning sun. He was smiling like always. He looked so grown up in his Jonin vest. The only trace of his orange was from his unzipped vest that let the orange part of his shirt show.

"So you had dinner with Hinata last night?" asked Yamato.

The blonde was still smiling.

"She came to the Ramen stand when I was already eating."

"So it was a date?" continued the wood user.

The blonde groaned.

"It wasn't a date. We sat together and talked. After I ate, I left."

"Did you walk her home?" asked Yamato.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Why would I? She knows how to get home," he replied.

The wood user slapped his forehead.

"Naruto. You are supposed to escort a lady home after a date."

The blonde looked at Kakashi and back to Yamato.

"Well, I didn't do anything wrong then. It wasn't a date."

Kakashi chuckled.

"If you say so, Naruto."

Sakura watched until Kakashi saw her.

"It's unusual for you to be late, Sakura," he said with a smile under his mask. "Black cat on your path of life?"

The rosette's face turned dark.

"Something wrong?" asked Kakashi hoping he hadn't set her off.

The medic nin stormed past the two elder Jonin. She grabbed Naruto by his exposed shirt.

"Morning, Sakura," he said with a nervous smile.

It was clear he was trying to figure out what he did wrong.

"-chan," she said.

"Huh," asked the blonde.

"Don't you usually call me Sakura-chan?" asked the rosette.

The blonde nodded.

"Hinata mentioned that it might make you angry that I call you Sakura-chan so I thought I'd try calling you by your name."

The rosette pressed him into the village wall.

"Hinata said that did she?"

The blonde nodded rapidly.

"What the hell does she know about what I like and don't like. I happen to like that you call me Sakura-chan."

She pressed her grip even harder into him.

"OK," he said clearly in pain.

"What were you doing eating dinner with Hinata?" she growled.

"I was eating dinner alone and she showed up. We talked. It wasn't a big deal."

"Oh?" asked the rosette. "And she just happened to mention that I didn't like being called Sakura-chan?"

Naruto was squirming.

"We talked about you a lot."

The rosette pressed even harder. The blonde winced in pain.

"And what else did she have to say about me?"

Naruto recalled the conversation. Sakura's blood was boiling by the end.

"So you're telling me that she was giving you advice on how to make me happy?"

The blonde smiled and nodded before she pressed her fist into him.

"What makes you think she knows anything about making me happy?" roared the rosette.

The jinchuuriki was nervous again.

"I don't know…it seemed like," he started before she silenced him.

"We have been teammates for years. I thought you would know me well enough to know what I like and don't like."

She released him and crossed her arms turning away from him.

"Sakura-chan," he whined. "Come on. Why are you being like this?"

He tried to get in front of her. She huffed and continued to look away from him. He finally relented and dropped to his knees.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Please tell me how I can make it up to you."

Sakura looked at him angrily.

"You can start by not listening to Hinata. She has no idea what makes me happy."

He looked up and nodded.

"Second, it is clear that we have not been spending enough time together if you are listening to other people about me. That will be remedied when we return from this mission. We are eating together every night for a week."

The blonde's face lit up.

"And I don't mean Ramen. Also, you will be paying for dinner and any activities afterwards."

The blonde nodded. Sakura opened her eyes.

"Good."

The rosette turned her attention to Kakashi and Yamato. They were arguing about something.

"That doesn't count," said Yamato.

Kakashi shook his head.

"The bet was he'd be on his knees in front of her. He's on his knees and she is in front of him."

"That wasn't the intention of the bet," whined the wood user.

Kakashi smiled.

"You chose the wording poorly. Now pay up."

The wood user sighed and pulled out his wallet. Kakashi waved the money in the air.

"We're staying at a hot spring tonight," said the senior Jonin.

Naruto whooped. Sakura crossed her arms.

"Were you betting about what I think you were betting about?" she growled.

Kakashi nodded.

"And it got the team a free night at a hot spring," he added.

Sakura let the idea roll around in her head.

"I guess that's OK as long as you're sharing your winnings."

Yamato looked defeated.

"Senpai," he whined.

The team walked out of the gate. They were a few hundred meters from the village when Yamato decided to entertain himself.

"So Naruto, will you be trying to peep on the women's bath again?" asked the former ANBU.

Sakura looked at the blonde. He was sweating shuriken.

"What are you talking about?" said the blonde nervously.

He looked at Sakura and shrugged his shoulders. She was looking angry.

"I swear. I didn't do anything."

"You were going to until I warned you about the consequences."

Naruto gave the wood user the finger.

"So you were going to peep on me?" said the rosette.

The blonde was within arm's reach.

"Well, yah see…I was young and foolish and pervy sage was a bad influence…and"

Sakura grabbed his shirt.

"Remember, turn about is fair play," said the rosette.

Kakashi nearly dropped his book and Yamato choked on his spit.

"Are you saying," started the blonde with a blush.

"I heard an interesting rumor about you recently," she said letting her eyes wander to his groin and back up. "I might feel the urge to confirm it."

The blue eyed ninja nearly collapsed and then covered his groin.

"Sakura-chan," he whined.

The rosette giggled and continued to walk along the road.

"If I knew teasing you about peeping like this would be this fun, I would have done it years ago."

The medic nin walked ahead of the group. She stopped when she had a good lead.

"Are you guys coming?" she yelled back.

She focused on the road again. This was going to be fun.


End file.
